MidMichigan earns accreditation

Midland Daily News

Published
7:37 am EDT, Monday, April 15, 2019

Recently, the MidMichigan Health - Transition to Practice Program was awarded with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurse's Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs. The program is the first in Michigan to be accredited and one of only 70 in the United States.

To earn accreditation, the program must transition registered nurses into new practice settings that meet rigorous, evidence-based standards for quality and excellence.

The Transition to Practice Program at MidMichigan Health is designed to provide support and resources to new graduate nurses during the transition from the academic setting into the professional role as a nurse. The year-long program includes a variety of professional development activities and educational opportunities.

"We developed this program in 2015 in response to a high turnover rate for newly graduate nurses," said Tara Neeb, D.N.P., R.N.-B.C., C.N.E., the program's founder. "We now use best practice strategy to retain new graduate nurses, and have members of our education team serve as content experts, mentors and facilitators of the program. To date, more than 300 nurses have participated in our program."

During the program, nurses meet frequently with a group of their peers to discuss relevant topics. Focus areas include communication, delegation and adjusting to the night shift. Content experts throughout the health system are also involved in the program and present to nurses on topics like documentation, patient privacy and mindfulness training, helping them assimilate to the culture at MidMichigan Health.